Curcumin therapeutic effects

Curcumin is a hydrophobic polyphenol derived from turmeric the rhizome of the herb Curcuma longa. Traditionally, turmeric and other curcuminoids have been used in therapeutic preparations for various ailments in different parts of the world. Numerous therapeutic effects of curcumin/turmeric have been confirmed by modern scientific research. It is a highly pleiotropic molecule that modulates numerous targets, including the activation of transcription factors (e.g., NF-kB, STAT-3, AP-1, NRF-2, PPR-y, HIF-1), receptors (e.g., HER-2, IL-8, CXCR-4), kinases (e.g., EGFR, ERK, JAK, AAPK), cytokines (e.g., TNF, IL, MIP, MCP), enzymes (e.g., MMP, iNOS, GST, ATPase), and... 

Many of the therapeutic effects of curcumin are attributed to its strong antioxidant property. Most natural antioxidative compounds can be classified into two types phenolic compounds and 3-diketone compounds [17]. Sesaminol from sesame belongs to the former type, and n-tritriacontan-16,18-dione from the leaf wax of Eucalyptus belongs to the latter type. However, few antioxidative substances possess both phenolic hydroxy and /3-diketone groups in one molecule, and curcumin has both features. 

From all these studies, it is clear that curcumin exhibits activities against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, the major ailments in the U.S. This dmg has also shown therapeutic effects against Alzheimer s disease, multiple sclerosis, cataract formation, HIV, and drag-induced nonspecific toxicity in the heart, lung, and kidney. Several of the studies estabhshing curcumin s potential were carried out in animals. Further testing of curcumin in humans is required to confirm these observations. A clinical development plan for using curcumin to treat cancer was recently described by the NCI. Studies also show that in countries such as India where curcumin is consumed. 

Table 1 shows different polymers used as nanocarriers for curcumin and the cancer cell lines that are affected by the formulations. The nanoencapsulatimi of curcumin within polymeric nanoparticles improves its therapeutic effect by overcoming the problems of low aqueous solubility and poor bioavailability. Due to its better therapeutic potential, nanocurcumin could be effectively used as a modality for cancer treatment. 

Joe B, Lokesh BR (1997) Prophylactic and therapeutic effects of n-3 PUFA, capsaicin curcumin on adjuvant induced arthritis in rats. J Nutr Biochem 8 397-407... 

Yallapu MM, Gupta BK, Jaggi M, Chauhan SC. Fabrication of curcumin encapsulated PLGA nanoparticles for improved therapeutic effects in metastatic cancer cells. J Colloid Interface Sci 2010 351 19-29. 

Several reports have described the anticancer activity of curcumin in a variety of cancer cell lines. In vitro studies have established the activity for curcumin against breast, gastric, hepatic, pancreatic, colorectal, urinary bladder, kidney, prostate, cervical, ovarian, uterine, lung, oral, thymic, and skin cancers. Besides these cancer types, curcumin has shown in vitro therapeutic efficacy against hematological cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. One of our early studies established that the antiproliferative effect of curcumin in human breast cancer cell lines, including hormone-dependent, hormone-independent,... 

An interesting property of curcuminoids is their anti-HIV effect, which has been demonstrated during in vitro and in vivo experiments, including a limited number of human studies (Lin et al., 1994). HIV infection is characterized by a complex command system, the structural part of which is called Tong terminal repeat (LTR), which results in virus activation or inactivation. Drugs that interfere with LTR may be of potential therapeutic value in delaying active HIV infection and the progression of AIDS. Curcumin has been found to inhibit activation of the LTR and to decrease HIV replication effectively (Li et al., 1993). 

Turmeric/curcumin are potential agents for wound healing. The therapeutic mechanism of wound healing has been studied by examining the antioxidant effects of curcumin on hydrogen peroxide induced damage to cultured human keratinocytes and fibroblasts (Phan et al 2001). Exposure of human keratinocytes and human dermal fibroblasts to cur-... 

---